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DEFENCE OF GENERAL CA< 



SPEECH 



or 

Hon. ii. McClelland, of Michigan, 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SATURDAY, JULY 1, 1848, 

On the Civil and THploTndHc Appropriation Bill. 

/ 



Mr. McCLELLAND said: 

Mr. Chairman: During five years of service in 
this House, 1 have never yet made a strictly party 
speech upon any question, anil would not trespass 
now upon the rule I prescribed for myself, had not 
the character of a distinguished citizen of my own 
State been most violently attacked and traduced. 
The gentleman from Pennsylvania, [Mr. Stew- 
art,] a few days ago, made many charges of a 
grave character against General Cass, and aJtho 
they are very loose, and some of them exceedingly 
trifling, yet 1 propose to occupy a short time in 
discussing them and similar ones made elsewhere. 
If my hour is not wholly consumed in this way, I 
may notice oilier remarks made by him and other 
gentlemen on this floor. 

The most protninentcharge against General Cass 
is, that whilst. Governor of the Territory of Mich- 
igan, he drew, besides his salary as Governor, 
enormous amounts of extra compensation — some 
making it, in the aggregate, SllKJ.aCS 94; but the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania, with every dispo- 
i to increase it, has been obliged, by some re- 
gard for truth, to reduce it to $60,41:2. I propose 
to examine this charge, and believe it is suscepti- 
ble of the most satisfactory explanation. One 
error committed by those who have endeavon 'I to 
distort this matter is, in assuming that each of the 
three documents (No. 6, 27th Congress, 3d sc 
and Nob. 112 and 244,25th Congress, 3d session) 
usually referred to, and which contain all the ne- 
iry information on the subject, relates to and 
embraces different and distinct classes of allow- 
ances; and they are figured out ami adroitly woven 
together so as to makeupthesum arrived at: while 
the slightest glance and most cursory examiti 
will show, clearly and unequivocally, that the doc- 
uments are reports from the Secretary of \Y 
answer to three separate calls of Congress for 
nearly the same information, and that they em- 
brace, with slight variations, precisely the same 
allowances, except that of the ami 
in document No. <). §12,1 !'- is left out of the other 
two documents. Thus die whole of the allow 
in document No. 211, and all in di 
except the sum of <,12,712, are set forth and con- 
tained in document No. 112. 

General Cass was Governor of the Territory of 
Michigan, and ex officio superintendent of | 
affairs in and for this Territory. As ex officio 

Printed at tiie Congressional Ulobu Utlice. 



superintendent of Indian Affairs, he discharged Inn 
duties within the limits established by th< Terri- 
torial organization, which embraced and included 
only the Indians and agencies within the peninsula 
of Al e higan and the agency at Gre< n Bay, on the 
western shore of Lake Michigan. In document 
No. 112, the accounting officers say, "that as 
' superintendent of Indian affaii nor Cass 

' was paid no salary by the Treasury Department; 

' hut an allowance of fifteen bundled dollars per 
'annum was mule to him by tke .Secretary of 
'War, and paid by the Treasury Department, 
' during his Buperintendency, to rortr ku expense! 
' ofojjice rent, clerk hire, ./»</, ttatiom , and, 

des this, ten rations per day, equal to -.T.'JiJ 
'per year, were allowed to him from the date of 
' his appointment, in 1813, till the end of 1821." 
They then go on to show the circumstances under 
which these allowances were made, quoting for 
that purpose a letter to Congress upon the subject 
from Mr. Calhoun, the Secretary of War, and by 
whom they were made, in which the facts and cir- 
cumstances are fully set forth. It appears, from 
this letter, that Gen Cass not only performed 

propriate duties of superintendent, but, in 
addition, actually < those of agent for sev- 

eral tribes which were without agents, both within 
and without his superintend! a v. In reference to 
the al! ,Mr.< s, (Doc. No. 112, 

page 2,) thru shortly after General Cass received 
.'mens, " he made application for a spe- 
>ver the various personal expenses 
deli he was liable in the performance of his 
' duty as superintendent. Without objecting to 
' the amount which he thought i ry for the 

' purpose, he was informed that a specific amount 

• could not be allowed; but at the same time it was 

I, that on presenting his account, what wu 
be allowed. The claim, from 

• its nature, could only be adjusted on equitable 
' principles, it being impossible I the items 

I which, situated BS he was, he was 

from his intercourse with the Indiana." 

The duties v hieh ' >•>-• ' A as 

superintendent Being similar to tho» of Governor 

, (Governor and superintendent of Indian 

. ■ " but more 

' extensive, and in their performance attended with 

. i the adjustment of Jiis accounts 

was had to the allowance which had 



' been made to the latter, making such additional 
' allowance as the difference in the two cases and 
' a regard tocquityrequired." Among the reasons 
given by Mr. Calhoun for the allowance was " the 
expense necessarily attending the intercourse with 

• the Indians at a point to which there is so great 
1 a resort of Indians as Detroit, and where, from 
' the neighborhood of the adjoining province of 

* Canada, it is necessary to extend to them greater 
' liberality and attention than at any other place." 
The case had previously been submitted to the 
President, (Mr. Madison,) who expressed the 
opinion that General Cass " should be remunera- 
ted for these additional expenses." Notwith- 
standing all this, the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
intimates that these claims were " allowed by Mr. 
Calhoun six years after he was out of office." 
What he means I cannot conceive, unless it be to 
charge Mr. Calhoun with a gross dereliction of 
duty. But the assertion is so devoid of all reason- 
ableness and plausibility, (without taking into con- 
sideration the purity of that distinguished man's 
character,) that it must be ascribed to the gentle- 
man's distempered imagination, as no man in his 
proper senses would make so unwarrantable and 
disingenuous an imputation. 

[Mr. Burt said, by the permission of my 
friend from Michigan, I wish to add a word to the 
explanation he has already made. 1 speak as to 
the item of extra allowance made by the Secretary 
of War during Mr. Monroe's administration, and 
of that alone. I am authorized to say, that this item 
was allowed during that administration, and thus 
the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Stewart] 
is utterly mistaken in supposing that it was allowed 
subsequently. The allowance was to remunerate 
General Cass, as Superintendent of Indian Affairs, 
for subsistence actually furnished Indians from a 
distance, who visited him on official business. 
These demands upon him became very heavy and 
very frequent. It was an expense which he was 
under no duty to bear, and his salary was inade- 
quate to^sustain it. From the very nature of the 
expenditure, specific vouchers could not be ad- 
duced orobtained. This sum was allowed, because 
it was supposed no more than was sufficient to 
cover the actual expenditures, which Mr. Calhoun 
was satisfied had been made by General Cass in 
the course of his official and important duties. Sir, 
I undertake to say, it was a charge as just on the 
part of General Cass, as its allowance was honor- 
able and proper on the part of Mr. Calhoun. His 
reasons are assigned on the account, and fully vin- 
dicate the propriety of the allowance.] 

But,,eir, to the narration. The accounting offi- 
cer states, that " Governor Clark was allowed by 
' law a salary, as superintendent, of $1,500 peran- 
' num. And on reference to his accounts, it appears 

• that the sum paid to him to cover his expenses 
' for office rent, clerk hire, fuel, stationery, &c, 
' was about $2,000 per annum; which greatly ex- 

* ceeds the allowance to General Cass for those 
' objects, excepting for the first seven or eight 
' years of his superintendence " Thus the allow- 
ance of $2,230 from October 9th, 1813, to May 
29th, 1822, when it was reduced to $1,500, and of 
that amount from the latter date to July 31, 1831, 
made by Mr. Calhoun, and sanctioned by Presi- 
dent Madison, for expenses and expenditures to 
which General Cass was actually subjected in the 



performance of his official duties as superintendent 
of Indian Affairs, and amounting in all to $33,325, 
is by some of his unscrupulous assailants and de- 
famers, not only run out for the whole period at 
$2,230 per annum as an " extra allowance for ser- 
vices incident to the office of Governor," but, by 
their peculiar facility at figures, is taken up from 
another document and made to amount to a much 
larger sum than that of the gentleman from Penn- 
sylvania. He must be surprised, and admire their 
fertility of invention, when he finds it surpasses 
his own. 

The next item of aliowance, as shown by the 
documents, is $1,500 per annum from 1822 to July 
31, 1831, inclusive, amounting to $14,3^75. This is 
the item in regard to which the most infamous and 
groundless charge has been made, that Mr. Cal- 
houn refused to allow it, and that General Cass 
allowed it to himself when he became Secretary of 
War. it has already been seen from the quota- 
tions from Mr, Calhoun's letter that General Cass 
actually performed, besides the duties within his 
territorial limits, those of agent for Indians for 
which no agents were provided, as well without as 
within the boundaries of his appropriate superin- 
tendency. He could not legally be required to 
attend to other duties than those strictly pertain- 
ing to his legitimate superintendency, and within 
its limits; but so great was his activity, efficiency, 
and success in the management of Indians, that, 
under peculiar circumstances of difficulty and em- 
barrassment in conducting our Indian relations in 
that quarter at that time, lie was selected to take 
charge of numerous other tribes for beyond his 
superintendency, in Ohio, Illinois, and what is now 
Wisconsin. Many of those Indians it was diffi- 
cult to manage, being disaffected towards our Gov- 
ernment and citizens, from having been employed 
against us during the last war with Great Britain, 
and in consequence of the intrigues of the agents 
of the British Government and the Hudson's Bay 
Company, who made them large presents annually, 
and taught them to look to their Government and 
citizens as friends and protectors, and to ours as 
enemies and foes, from whom they had nothing 
to expect but injustice and wrong. It was only 
by the most energetic measures and firm and deter- 
mined personal conduct, that on frequent occasions 
they were prevented from breaking out into open 
hostilities and deluging an extensive frontier with 
the blood of our scattered and defenceless citi- 
zens. On one occasion the Indians abruptly with- 
drew from the council with threatening words and 
gestures, and had drawn up in battle array and 
hoisted the British flag in defiance, when General 
Cass, at the imminent peril of his life, accompa- 
nied only by an interpreter, went directly among 
ihem, tore down the flag and trampled it under his 
feet, and told them that no such emblem of foreign 
power should wave over territory of the United 
States in his presence. This chivalric act so 
astounded the Indians and excited their admiration 
for his daring and courage, as to change completely 
the whole tone of their feelings, and they soon 
submitted, and entered into friendly council and 
satisfactorily arranged their difficulties. This is 
only one of the many instances in which General 
; Cass subjected himself to similar risk and danger 
with the same promptness and determination and 
with like auspicious results. He was subjected to 



great and various inconveniences, and hie * 1 i tl i - 
cultics and i mbcu rassments wen 
by hid being compelled to take with him large 
amounts of money, which, <m account of lh( 
state of the earn ncy, he bad to collect and trans- 
port to Detroit with much danger and risk. Any 
one who will take the trouble to consult the docu- 
ment a referred t>>, will acknowledge the almoel 
ineurmoun table difficulties he had to encounter, 
and wonder how he ev< eded bo well in the 

discharge of his duties. It was customary at the 
time to allow two and a half per cent. on all 

moneysdisbun ed under similar cir Btances;and 

i some |400,000 passed through his hands, 

(mo ll of which he had at his own cos I and ex pen e 

to transport from the interior of Ohio through an 
(tied country of about two hundred miles,) lie 
never was allowed one cent for it, except in what 
the gentleman from Pennsylvania calls extra allow- 
ances. 

Under these circumstances, he considered that 
some p ble allowance should be made to him 

for the t xtra labor and heat y expensi b to which, 
in various ways, he was subjected , and for disburs- 
ing this large amount of money, none of which duties 
nately belonged to him. Accordingly, in the 
year 18~8, he submitted an account for these extra 
and extraordinary Bervices, tor the seven years 
ending with 1828, amounting to -,] 1,873 ">.">, being 

at the s one rale as had been allowed tO h;s I 

cessor (Governor Hull) for similar services. With- 
out questioning the justice of the claim, the Secre- 
tary of War, General P. B. roller, submitted it 
to the Attorney General, the upright and eminent 
Mr. Wot, for his opinion, and Mr. Wirt deciding 
it favorably, said: 

" I mi. I. island ihe facts st ited in Governor Cass's V tier or 
tie- i .Hi November to he admitted ; and If bo, I c in perceive 
no ground on which bis claim can properly lie resist* d. Ili- 
saJary a- governor i- compensation (bi governor, but the 
services for whicb be claims do not !i long to bis duty as 
or of the Michigan Territory, and having tie. n em 
ployed bj G ivernment to perform lb iss, lie ha- a 

litir claim for them on the princi . quantum < 

The facte .••me. ded, in- right i- undeniable." 

Then upon the Secretary of War allowed Gen- 
era! Cass |10,500, being at the rate of §1,500 per 
annum for the period embraced in the account, ami 
thai sum was accordingly paid some time prior to 
his becoming Secretary of War, ami Mr. Calhoun 
never had the claim under consideration, (so far as 
I ran ascertain,) and therefore could not have re- 
1 it. 

When General Cass entered upon his duties as 
Secretary of War, there v. o him tie 

allowance f..r the bal LI ce of his term as superin- 
tendent, namely, from 1829 to July 31st, 1831, 
inclusive, amounting to vH,s7.">. This 
being hi Jed on the same principles as tie 

: ' i! by Mr. Wirt, there would have been no 
impropriety in the accounting officer's acting on 
tire account, and paying him the amount; ho 
cnii (I by the most scrupulous delicacy, and the 
nicest sense of propriety, he endorsed upon the 
account the following: 
■■ In the peculiar position in which I now stand in r 

to Ih ■ (I. |. irlin.iil. although the i barge i- n..| OlUj UneW • |i 

tionable in itself, but supported bj a pn \ em- decision of the 
War n ipartnu nt. yet I am willing it aboutd remain suspend- 
ed ami not acted on until Ucaa v. lib propriety be decided.'' 



1 1 until Nm 

ber, 1837, y for 

Prance, when it was taken up and allowed, as a 

i of COUI 

Anothi r item Df the I 

il m addition to thr other nil 
< l< neral C - 

• r in negotiating h i 
•f Indians, A • ■ 'I! 

nd f ] 1,375 of ll c mount is a 

repetition of l! ml ' untaiin d in dm i 

1 12, in in • the allowance I* fore notii i d, for 

and expt i I nsand making 

disbursements not within his supeiin • 

granted under the ope Mi. Wirt. Thus, 

r the amount fa ad, it was 

only |12,7]2; and even of this sum the docui 
il b considerable portion waa for < 
I in ma have b, in ei iii all) 1 nnd 

: of lone 

experience in, and perfectly rersant with, si 

matters, who waa with General C iany of 

the occasions for which theallowi . emade, 

and who stales (hat ihe actual and unavoidable 
expenses could not have been less than $fj, '• 

leaving for compensation only $6,270 — a small 
compensation for prolonged absences from his 
family, through a period of seventeen yeai 
exposure, risk, and danger, and a of over 

ten thousand miles, in birch-bark i : 

the lakes and "Jt — 

all u 1 '- ieat toil and discomfort. 

■ 1 '< rritories, that 
. ■-. perhaps, the most important 

and i le. His .salary bj Governor waa 

§2,000 per annum; whilst thai allowed to the I 
einor of the Territory of Orleans, who had ii) 
superintendency of Indian aflaira, was <■,">, 000 per 
annum; and the Btrong thai the 

duties of the one a more arduous 

than those of tin other. 
To recapitulate: the allowances, as shown by a 

correct analysis of 'he dl which have 

so frequendy referred to, were as follows: 

1. The allowances mad by Mr. Calhoun, N 
and sanctioned!)) President Madison, and continued to 
hun la -ni.- qu hi Secretaries ol War, one for rati o —, 
from October B, < day. 

at -J h— for .-ii|i|) irtiirj llie India ' ; and 

i for "ili ■• rent, cl< <k hire, fuel, stall 

fcc, from I I Jul) 31, If 

. 

: ni,. I r the opinion <>i Mr. 
Wirt, b) - ■ War, daring Mr. 

Ada n - i il -ni-. qui ntly, 

(■i,e- for -i rvic Intending tie i 

I 

i Igo in lllii 

■ii- and 
game i \ mil the Bi t 

lei annum, ns 
allowed for pn ■ n ■■ 

eeiv.il for actual »s 

superintend! nt. in tra\ iii- 

i il-, and .li-im: 
others were allow ■•! ■' . p.-r • s 

ti, p. i3.o \ Hjns oo 

i allowanci -. \ is : — 
Fora perdiemoi --|.o I 

e\i ■'( 

Greenville in 181 1, and St. M u 

conctui i- « itij the W . and 

in i I nt to s mi 

und travelling alio. ' I in 1817, 



($-203) ; travelling and other expenses incident 
to the treaty of St. Mary's, in September and 

October, 1818, ($600) ; travelling and. other ex- 
penses incident to the treaty of Sagaiuiw, in « 

1819, ($-240); travelling and other expenses inci- 
dent to the treaty of Sault de Bte. Marie, in 

1820, ($336) ; and for fifty days' extra services, 
previous and subsequent to the aforesaid trea- 
ties, in preparing for and carrying into effect the 
several stipulations thereof, ($400.) 

Services as commissioner at treaty of Ohi- 
caso, 52 days, at $8 per day, between June and 
November," 1821, ($416) ; and mileage for 350 
miles, at $8 for every 20 miles, ($280.) 

Attendance at seat of Government, by order 
of the Secretary of War, on settlement of his 
accounts, from October 31, 1821, to May 29, 
1822, 208 days, at. 10 rations (at 20 cents each) 
per day, ($416); and allowance for expenses 
travelling to and from Washington, and whilst 
there, ($1,022.) 

Services as commissioner to treat with In- 
dians at Wapagh-Konetta, and his travelling 
allowance from 4th to 30th May, 1825, ($-256.) 

Also, for similar services at Prairie dn Chien, 
from 4th June to 7th October, 1S25, including 
travelling allowance and attendance in taking 
the treaty to Washington, ($2,092.) 

Similar services, holding treaties in Indiana, 
in September and October, 1825, 46 days, at $8 
per day, ($368); and his travelling allowance, 
($184.) 

Similar-services at Fond du Lac, 65 days, be- 
tween the 10th June and 10th September, 1826, 
at $8 per day, ($520) ; and travelling allowance 
for 2,100 miles, at 40 cents per mile, ($840.) 

Similar services at Hutte des Morte, in June, 
July, and August, 1827, 80 days, at $8 per day, 
($480); and travelling allowance for 1,200 miles, 
at 40 cents per mile, ($480.) 

Similar services at Green Bay, 51 days, from 
10th July to 29th August, 1828.' at $8 per day, 
($408) ; and 15 days in preparations and ar- 
rangements for the treaties and closing their 
concerns, ($120) ; and travelling allowance for 
1,450 miles, at 40 cents per mile, ($584.) 

Similar services at St. Joseph, in September, 
1827, 10 days, at $8 per day, ($80) ; and mileage, 
400 miles, at 40 cents per'mile, ($160.) 

Services and expenses at seat of Government, 
111 days, between 22d October, 1828, and 10th 
February, 1829, in preparing a code for the regu- 
lation of Indian affairs, in conformity to orders 
of the Secretary of War, at $8 per day, ($880) ; 
and mileage for 1,600 miles, from Detroit to 
Washington city, and hack, at $8 for every 
20 miles, ($640.) 

In all 12.712 00 



Total $60,412 00 



The first, as lias been shown, was for the actual 
and necessary expenses of his local office, as super- 
intendent of Indian affairs, within the peninsula of 
Michigan, during a space of over eighteen-and-a- 
half years. It was, therefore, no emolument or com- 
pensation whatever. It was to cover the expenses 
of the office, and not the officer. And General Cass, 
when applying for it in 1821, says: "It may be 
* readily presumed that, upon such a frontier, and 
'in such times, my expenses must have far ex- 
' ceeded the salary of my office. I can solemnly 
' aver, that I expended much more than the whole 
1 sum received as salary, "($2,000 per annum;) and 
refers to Colonel Hunt and General Macomb, and 
incidentally to General McArthurand Mr. Graham, 
all gentlemen distinguished for their veracity and 
integrity. (See Doc. 112, pages 4 and , r ).) 

The second item was for services and expenses 
as superintendent and agent for numerous tribes of 
Indians not within his superintendency, which 
duties the law did not require him to perform, and 
for which, as decided by Mr. Wirt, he was clearly 



entitled to extra compensation. One-half of this 
amount at least was for expenses. 

Of the third item, it has already been shown that 
only $6j270 was for compensation, the balance 
being for actual and necessary expenses. Thus, 
instead of his having received over $100,500, or 
$G0,412, mainly as extra compensation, the whole 
amount paid him, for extra services of all kinds, 
beyond li is salary as Governor, did not exceed, in 
eighteen-and-a-half years, $13,457 50. This is 
probably a far less sum than, on examination of 
the accounts of his distinguished opponent, would 
show that he has received as extra compensation 
during his career of service; which service, it is no 
disparagement to him to say, has, for the greater 
part of his time, consisted of only the formal routine 
of light military duty, at comparatively unimport- 
ant posts, and for which, a calculation of only his 
regular and ordinary pay and allowances, in the 
several grades through which he has passed, will 
show that he has received (separate and apart from 
extra allowances) the large sum of $127,000 — as 
will appear by a statement in my possession, and 
subject to any person's examination. 

I do not desire to, and shall not, draw any 
invidious comparisons between these two men. 
My only design is, to show that General Taylor, 
as well as General Cass, has received his share of 
the public treasure; at the same time I am candid 
enough to frankly admit my belief that he has de- 
served every farthing he received. General Cass 
has received nothing from the General Govern- 
ment that others have not received for similar ser- 
vices. 

I will now devote a few moments to showing 
that it has been the invariable practice of the Gov- 
ernment to make what the gentleman pleases to 
denominate extra allowances; and I do it with no 
malicious or improper spirit, but only for the pur- 
pose of relieving a distinguished man's character 
from a vile aspersion. 

General Scott received the following, (see Doc. 
No. G, p. 41:) 

1. For a per diem of $6, from Sept. 22, 1818, to 17th May, 

1819, engaged in the compilation of a military work for 
the army, by order of the War Department, $1,428 00 

2. For a per diem of $6, engaged in 1824 in re- 

vising infantry tactics 1,104 00 

3. Similar services in 1825 540 00 

4. Compensation as author and compiler of the 

new system of discipline and tactics, and for 
superintending the printing of the same 5,000 00 

5. For a per diem of $8, for one hundred and 

eighteen days' services as Commissioner with 
Pottawatomie Indians, and treating with the 
Winnehagoes, Sacs and Foxes, at Chicago, 
Prairie du Chien, and Rock Island, from 22d 
June to 17th October, 1832, ($944,) and mile- 
age from New York, by way of Chicago and 
Prairie du Chien, to Rock Island and back, 
2.980 miles, at 40 cents per mile, ($1,192;) 
but General Scott not to charge for army 
transportation in his account as Major Gen- 
eral 2,136 00 

6. For a per diem of $8 for two hundred and forty- 

four days' services as Commissioner to treat 
and make arrangements with the Cherokee 
Indians, from the 11th April to 10;h Decem- 
ber, 1838, ($1,952,) and his expenses during 
the time, ($358 71) 2,310 71 

Total 12,518 71 

George B. Porter, late Governor of the Territory 
of Michigan, for services similar to those of 
General Oass, (see Doc. No. 6, p. 38,) received 
during four years and five months $8,472 60 



I might also refer to the cases of Governor Duval, 
of Florida, and I tev( mora Miller, Izard, and Pope, 
of Ark. nis. is, and others, in nil the different depart- 
ments of the Government; bul to <l<> so would be 
consuming your time to little purpose. 

But, after all, the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
has not, in his own legislative career, manifested 
any antipathy to these extra allowances. Only a 
few days ago, the bill to pay the widow of Joseph 
Nourse — which was for the payment of •>'. per 
cent, for disbursing moneys whilst he was Regis- 
ter of the Treasury — amounting to $23,582 72, and 
whilst Mr. Nourse was, during most of the time, 
receiving a salary "i'y.\ I do and $3,000 per annum — 
was under consideration, and its merits were fully 
discussed, and the gentleman could not have mis- 
understood it; and yet, when the yeas and n i\ 
were ordered, he voted for it. The gentleman's 
party also gave as a gratuity to Mrs. Harrison, 
widow of General Harrison, $25,000. I do not 
give these instances for the purpose of Bhowing 
my disapprobation of them — for of that I do nol 
speak — but merely to exhibit the spirit and feel- 
ings of the man who lias made many of these 
reckless charges. 

I will now, Mr. Chairman, direct the attention 
of the committee to the manner in which the gen- 
tleman has staled these several items in his print, d 
speech, in order to exhibit its unfairness, and the 
injustice done to General Cass. One of the charges 
in his account, which, up to 1823, was allowed by 
Mr. Calhoun, runs thus in the gentleman 'a speech: 
" From October 9, 1813, to July 31, 1831, $1,500 
per annum, extra salary;" when, by referring to 
Doc. 112, we find, instead of being for " extra sal- 
ary," it was " to cover his expenses for office rent, 
clerk hire, fuel, station cry," &c. [n noting the item 
for making treaties, &c, at Greenville, Saginaw, 
nnd Sault Ste. Marie, etc., he closes with these 
words — " Fifty days preparing before and after trea- 
ty;" leaving it naked and unintelligible, and con- 
veying the impression that General Cass had really 
put so much money into his pocket, without having 
performed any service to deserve it; when the 
language used in the document, No. 6, from which 
he copied, is this: " And for fifty days extra ler- 
viees, previous and subsequent to the aforesaid 
treaties, in preparing for and carrying into effect 
the several stipulations thereof," explaining this 
part of the item satisfactorily. As the rules of 
order will not permit me to state why he has re- 
sorted to the Procrustean system here, I leave it to 
you to determine what inference might be drawn 
from it. In his second statement, which appears 
to be general, he asserts that " fifteen hundred p< r 
annum i rfra salary, (the same to which I hue be- 
fore alluded,) from is].') to 1831, nearly eii;hl< i n 
years, was "paid in 1831;" which was years after 
the services were rendered. Now, the documents 

and the ac nts stated, show that the several 

amounts were paid in 1822, and thereafter when- 
ever the accounts of General Cass wtre audited. 
There was no postponement or refua il of p tyment, 
and do extraordinary delay. The gentleman from 
Pennsylvania has inserted in his speech a particu- 
lar and general statement of these items , 
count, and in his addition of one of his columns 
of figures, he has committed an error of more than 
four thousand dollars; and it will be seen, that if 
he had entered the items properly, and made his 



calculation correctly, il w iuld have lati Red him 
: < ■ the imputation of General C irging 

twice for the i one \u m a - 1 a ■ 
Mr. Chairman, my time will not permit ms 

i to d\\ ell on this poi Hon of I,' 

which, from the adroit manner in which it is 

■ !i a wn up, is calculated and pi rhni 

mislead and dee. iw tin- people. If 
his purpose, H hy were not all thl 

set down a, they appt ared in the official 

y purported I.. I 
taken? I >id he ait upon < 
fair in polities?" I should be glad to throw the 

mantle of charity ovi r i', bol all the . 

are so strong, that I am in doubt whell • 

be ascribed to anythinj else than n to 

pervert tin- truth. 

Thus, Mr. Chairman, I havi d, ns 

Inii il y as the nature of the • vould p< ru 
reply to this charge, and whether a lly or 

not, I submit ni" t cheerfully to the can. lor and 
good sense of the committi 

I will now proceed to the examination ofai 
accusation of the gentleman from i 
[Mr. Stew \n i ,] which will lie found to be equally 
groundless and unjustifiable. 1 1 

" General Casa was race a steal lover ot the voloi 
il u i a volunteer himself, and was sometime* called tim 
1 old Volunteer.' Bat now it was on the raoord 
, : ,i i then imu no sa o ■•- '. m i •'. ■!. a on til 
bar, (Jen. Til i a nit'. tie- Benale • a bill redodag 

tin- pay of volunteers, Ibr commutation forclothlng,oiu third.' 
lie knew it wm eaid thai General Can bad seen the tdja 
t ant c.'ner il, an.l i"it him ..r the President to nail 
stmction, or veto it sa f-t fatto. He might have foond It 

would n n| do to <tri|> I In- volunteer* Of their clothing; 

(ng and burning night have been nnpli i i • "" 

To such as the gentleman from Pennsylvania 

to be burnt in effigy, might be very unpleasant, 
and I doubt not it would; but in the mind of a man 
of as high moral and intellectual chat 
eral < 'ass, it could < ■' even a if dis- 

pleasure against the perpetrators of such nn act. 
Now, I undertake to say, Mr. Chairman, that a 
paragraph more replete with willful errors was 
never, in so few words, uttered. The 
who first made the charge in Mexico had not 
access to the records, could not ascertain the facts, 
and therefore, on the impulse of the moment, and 
under undue excitement, and from f-.<.\*r informa- 
tion, he did mat which I doubt not he will d< 

when he lenrns the truth. But what pallia- 
tion of the offence can be found for the gentleman 
Pennsylvania? All the facts were within his 
reach, many of the circumstances should hav< 
within his own knowledge, and yet, t" vilify a 
distinguished political oppom nt, he resorts to the 
most monstrous m I ■ ntle- 

man could not fail to remember the return of CoK 

on. I Hiker, of Illinois, from Mexico to this Hall, 

on the 28th of Dt em er, 1846, for it was rei I 

memorable by many of the accompanying circona- 
stances, and exhibited ■• which we all hope 

never to witness again. Colonel Baker claimed 
the privilege of addressing th< Hob p; nd after 
some objections were o I, and told 

some most unpalatable truths. In his remarks, he 
said he li »d !'• . n il. puted to come I R Cl a 

change of the syst* m fox supplying clothing to the 



6 



volunteers; and stated, that of the twenty-six regi- 
ments of volunteers who had been sent to Mexico, 
there were but two or three who were possessed 
of decent clothing for the campaign, and urged, in 
the most impressive and imploring manner, the 
adoption of a resolution he proposed for that pur- 
pose. 

On the 26th July, 1847, Lieutenant McWilliams, 
Second Pennsylvania Volunteers, says, in a letter 
forwarded to the War Department: " As regards 
' clothing, I would prefer the clothing instead of 
' the commutation thereof." 

On the 14th of August, 1847, Lieutenant Ankrim, 
First Pennsylvania Volunteers, in speaking of the 
want of clothing, says: 

" Tlie dissatisfaction has been on the increase for two 
weeks past, during which time several have deserted, and 
others have manifested a disposition to follow their exam- 
ple." 

And again, December 11, 1847: 

" I cannot see the propriety of withholding clothing from 
our service." 

Captain Scott, First Pennsylvania Volunteers, 
says, November 23, 1847: 

" Some of the recruits come here in a truly destitute con- 
dition. One of those received this morning had hut one 
shirt, and no shoes. When Congress meets, cannot pro- 
vision be made to supply the volunteer recruits with clothing 
as the regulars are supplied ?" 

A joint application was also made by officers of 
the two Pennsylvania regiments of volunteers for 
the same allowance of clothing as regulars receive. 

I have also extracts from letters received at the 
War Department, and written by Lieutenant Ash- 
ley, Lieutenant Gardner, Lieutenant Kinney, and 
Captain Carrington, of the Virginia volunteers, 
Colonel Walbach, commanding depot for Virginia 
volunteers, and Colonel Morgan, late superintend- 
ent of the recruiting service — all urging the depart- 
ment to press the matter through Congress as 
speedily as possible, as the volunteers were actu- 
ally suffering, and the service, in consequence, was 
much injured. 

In compliance with these solicitations, the Adju- 
tant General, from the purest and noblest motives, 
suggested the measure to the War department, and 
the Secretary of War recommended it in this strong 
language: 

"I respectfully repeat the recommendation in my last 
annual report on the subject of clothing in kind for volun- 
teers, in lieu of the money which is at present paid to them 
as a commutation. The experience of the past year has 
shown the necessity for this change. The clothing provided 
by the volunteers themselves, both in kind and quality, is 
generally unsuited for the service, and often proves to be 
deficient in quality. Serving in an enemy's country, and at 
a distance from the ordinary sources of supply, it can seldom 
be replaced wiien lost or worn out, and always at an exorbi- 
tant price. Much of the suffering which has been experi- 
enced by these troops may be attributed to the want of proper 
clothing. If authority were given to supply the volunteers 
in the manner provided for the regular troops, it is believed 
they would be better clothed, and at les3 cost to themselves 
and to the Government, than by the present mode. It is 
understood, that if such provision is made, the arrangements 
of Ih'- quartermaster's department are such, in relation to 
Supplying clothing, that it can readily furnish a supply to the 
volunteers."— (Sec Ex. Doc. No. 1, p. 66.) 



The War Department havin^adopted the sugges- 
tions made by the Adjutant General, prepared and 
sent to the Military Committee of the Senate a bill 
to authorize the President to call out twenty thou- 
sand volunteers, for the further prosecution of the 
war with Mexico, with the substance of the law 
alluded to as one of the sections. For the benefit 
of the volunteers, the committee in the Senate — 
composed of Messrs. Cass, Benton, Crittenden, 
Davis of Mississippi, Dix, Badger, and Rusk — 
unanimously decided to report this section as a 
separate bill, and thus obtain for that measure more 
speedy action than was anticipated for the bill of 
which it was a component part. On the motion 
of the gallant Colonel Davis, (than whom no man 
has shown astronger attachment to the volunteers,) 
the committee changed the phraseology so as, in 
their opinion, to render the condition of the volun- 
teers in the matter of clothing less identical with 
that of the regular army, and to avoid the con- 
struction that was afterwards temporarily placed 
upon it; and the section, thus modified, was re- 
ported by a member of the military committee to 
the Senate, which, on the 3d day of' January last, 
passed it without division or amendment. (See 
letter of Col. Jeff. Davis, of the Senate, to Wm. 
C.H.Waddell.ofNew York city, June 28, 1848.) 
This shows clearly that it was thoroughly investi- 
gated and fully understood in the Senate. 

Now for the action of the House. The bill was 
sent to it, and the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
says, it was stated to be a bill " for the benefit of 
volunteers; and it passed at once, without inquiry 
or opposition.'" Is this true? On the contrary, the 
Journals convict the gentleman of a most palpable 
and unjustifiable error. No man should prefer such 
an accusation without at least endeavoring to ascer- 
tain the facts; but what are we authorized to say 
of an honorable member, who ought to be conver- 
sant with the proceedings of the House, who makes 
such an unfounded assertion, in order to shelter 
himself, and condemn the "old volunteer?" I 
have no doubt I might easily select an epithet from 
the gentleman's own vocabulary which would be 
appropriate to the present occasion; but if he is 
not callous to the higher and more ennobling im- 
pulses of the human heart, his punishment will be 
severe enough when he reflects soberly upon the 
injustice he has attempted to do. What were tire 
proceedings of the House upon this bill? It was 
referred to the Military Committee, composed of 
Messrs. Botts, Burt, Wilson, Haralson, Dickey, 
Boyd, Marvin, Haskell, and Fisher, (six Whigs 
and three Democrats,) not one of whom was hos- 
tile to the volunteers. On the 19th of January, 
they, through their chairman, (Mr. Botts,) report- 
ed it back to the House, without amendment, and 
recommended its passage, in which recommenda- 
tion the House immediately concurred, and the 
gentleman himself voted for it. Where was his 
professed attachment for the volunteers then? Why 
did he vote for a bill which, in his opinion, was 
shameful and unjust? Ignorance of its contents 
does not excuse him, nor does it, in the slightest 
degree, mitigate his offence. 

As soon as the order of the Adjutant General 
(of which the gentleman complains) was known, 
Colonel Davis brought it to the notice of the Mil- 
itary Committee of the Senate; and General Cass, 
and all the members of the committee, declared 



thai no such result was intended , or believed to be 
deducible from the terms of the net. Colonel 
Davis was thereupon deputed to make 1 1 ■ i m known 
to the department, and afterwards the order ■ u 
ed, and the true spirit and meaning of th«- 
law waa carried into effi ct. - 

Now, air, thia brief history shows the 1 1 irti 
tion of General Cass in thia matter; and is there 
another Whi \ on this floor ao regardleaa of a proper 
aenae "f honor aa to attempt to distort 1 
so as to bring down odium and censure upon a 

fat 1 '1 1 1 soldi) r? [f there be such amongst us, 
know him not. See what two high-minded and 
honorable men say of it. Colonel Datii of the 
Senate, in his letter, says: 

" The censure cast upon General Caas, on account ofa 
bill which \\ :i - report* d front the Military Committee of the 
Benati during the present session, to provide clothing for 
volunteers in ilic service of the United Stan--, is in every 

souse unjust." 

Adjutant General Jones, (an honest Whig, who in 

the discharge of his official duties knows no party,) 
says, in a letter to Governor r'm.cn and myself: 

"It is certainly unjust to attribute to General Cass any 
agency in construing the last act of Congress in any way 
prejudicial to the volunteers; and I may add, I well know 
that his views arc always liberal, and that he would be the 
last to advocate any measure which had for its ohject the re- 
duction of their jia;/ and allowances.* 1 

Sir, I close this part of my remarks with com- 
mending the course of the latter gentleman, one of 
his osvn party, to the attention of the member from 
Pennsylvania, and advise him hereafter to imitate it. 

The gentleman from Pennsylvania charges that 
the expenses of the Government under Mr. Polk, 
have run up to $60,000,000 a year; intending to 
convey the idea that such has been and would be 
the annual expenditures of the Government under 
the present Administration. Now, sir, what are the 
facts ? The expenditures for the fiscal year ending 
June 30,184"), were exclusive of the public debt, only 
$21,895,303 61; those of 1845- '6, $26,418,45'.! 59; 
those of 1846- '7, (during the war.) >53,801,569 37; 
and now that the war is over, they will not proba- 
bly exceed $25,000,000 annually. How can it be 
possible, then, that he should gravely state to this 
House, in another portion of his remarks, that 
" the President and his party could take sixty 
millions of dollars a year into Mexico ?" Does he 
not know that the ordinary expenditures of the 
Government during a war could not he less than 
$25,000,000, and that of the balance of the largest 
appropriation made, ($53,801,569 37,) at least one- 
third, and perhaps one-half, was expended in this 
country r This can be ascertained to a common 
certainty by application to the proper sources of 
information; but my estimate I believe 1 
proxi mates to the true amounts expended here 
and there. 



* "Adjutant Okm « u.'s un' 

Washington, June M. It 18. j 
"Sir: In reply to your note ofthe liili instant, I have to 
inform you, that the allowance for clothing to volunti en, aa 
at present lived, lias n<ii be n diminished from former rate-, 
but is tin- same ($3 50 permonlhl a- was allowed before the 
passage ofthe act of Januarj 96, 1848, and more than one 
dollar per month greater than is allow, d to soldi) r- • •! the 
regular army. 
« Verj respectfully, R. JONES, JMjulanl General. 

" lion. Alfbeus FelcHj 

Senate United States, Washington, D. C." 



i he iwys, " Mr. Polk h id found 
|17,000,000 of debt, Mud had now run il up 
1100,000,000 or over " Now,i r.ifl 

ly informed, (he national d 
the fiscal \ ■ 

! but a ff u tion over ■■ Qfl 'lie 

|16,000,000 loai I ■ ed, 

ami it is altogi thsr prob ible that il 

i ly mi' nol ail ) the contii .. ,,r. 

Bui why dOl to 

ilional il. ' ■ not the opinion ity 

that a " national debt is a national 
certainly should jud • am then- legislative 

conduct and from the tendency of their i 
The gentleman from Pennsylvania I 
some remarks against this Administration in 
Mid to the number of collection d nd b is 

run a parallel between the reo nd expendi- 

tures of those districts, to which I id vert, 

This charge was made against Mr. Van Buren's 
administration, in the famous can\ 
and when the Whigs got into power, thej 
to have forgotten that it had been mentioned during 
the campaign, for so fir as 1 can learn, tl 
attempted ,to remedy the evil, (if it was an evil,) 
but permitted it to remain untouched. Thia shows 
one of two things, either that they did not see the 
same corruption in the system of collecting the 
revenues of the Government after as before the 
election, or they were willing to give it counte- 
nance to subserve party purposes. The collection 
districts to which the gentleman alluded were all, 
t believe, in existence at that time, and perhaps 
that gentleman could give some good reason for 
their retention. Those who make this charge 
appear not to be aware of the fact, that some of 
our collection districts in whieh'but little revenue 
is collected, are important to the Government in 
protecting the revenue from fraud, suppressing 
smuggling, and giving facilities to our coasting 
trade, and the commerce between the States. But, 
sir, is it not strange that the gentleman from Penn- 
sylvania, who has been here for the last two terms, 
should not have brought this subject before to our 
attention, and more especially when his party has 
the ascendency in this House, and the Committee 
of Commerce, to which it appropriately bel 
is composed of five Whigs and four Democrats, 
and judging from the character of its members^ 
would most cheerfully consider any pr< 
that might be referred to them} I would appeal 
to the gentleman from M Its, [Mr. Gaur- 

kell,] than whom no man in this House is more 
thoroughly acqu tint* d with commercial affairs, and 
inquire of him whether he belicvcaany of thes- 
tom-houses,dkc.,can be properly dispensed w ith ? 

Mr. I raomxi l made no reply. 

Mr. McCLELLAND pro If the com- 

plaint of the gentleman from Penni •. ■'.-. mi •■ well 
rounded, why has not the committee taken cl 
ofthe subject, and introduced a bill to 
with such aa were superfluous ? On the ■ 
they have introduced bills I olrae- 

tion districts, which I predict will not yield one 
farthing for ten that the treasury will bavt to sup- 
ply to support them. No sal .ment 
can be made until our ' nerce 
and navigation an I, modified, and the en- 
tire system remodeled; and 1 t>!l the gentleman 
from Pennsylvania, this isjiot the work ofa d 



V 



8 



With this view, I introduced, during the last Con- 
gress, a resolution, which was submitted io the 
Committee on Commerce, and reported upon favor- 
ably; but after it had pa-ssed, it was, upon motion 
of my friend from Philadelphia, [Mr. J. R. Ingeu- 
soll, without any intention on his part to defeat it,] 
reconsidered, in order to permit him to amend so as 
to cover a revision of all our laws, and the resolu- 
tion was then, on account of the magnitude of the 
design, unfortunately laid on the table, " to sleep 
the sleep that knows no waking." When I was 
a member of the Committee on Commerce, I intro- 
duced a bill regulating the compensation of collect- 
ors and other officers of the customs, which be- 
came a law, and which has saved the Government 
annually some fifty thousand dollars. My friend 
from North Carolina [Mr. McKay] has, for sev- 
eral years, been laboring to reduce the expenses of 
collecting the revenue. And Mr. Walker, (Sec- 
retary of the Treasury,) at this session, recom- 
mended a reduction. His suggestions, and those 
of my friend from North Carolina, were adopted 
by the Committee of Ways and Means, and the 
aggregate amount has been reduced from $2,059,- 
617 86, in 1846-'7, and $2,090,916 in 1847- '8 to 
#1,570,000 in 1848- '9. Does this look like a dis- 
position in the Democratic party to throw any ob- 
stacles in the way of salutary retrenchment and 
reform? Will the gentleman please show any such 
indication on his side of the House, unless it is 
just before some important election ? 

Gentlemen had complained of the extravagance 
of this Administration, but in all cases fail to give 
us the items. It is an easy thing to make sweep- 
ing declarations and naked assertions, but far more 
difficultto specify and particularize. The gentleman 
from Pennsylvania takes us back to the Presidency 
of John Q.uincy Adams, and, without making any 
allowance for the growth of our country, its territo- 
ries, its trade, commerce, business of all descrip- 
tions; without reflecting that it has become one of 
the greatest nations, in all respects, in the world — 
censures Mr. Polk and the Democratic party for 
not reducing all our national expenditures to those 
of Mr. Adams's administration. Sir, if your party 
is sincere in these complaints, and if you are really 
honest in your professions, (when you talk as the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania does,) let me ask 
why you did not apply the knife in 1841-'42, when 
you had the power? Why did you increase them 
far beyond those of Mr. Adams's administration 
and of subsequent Administrations? 
In 1811, the expenditures (exclusive of the public debt) 

were $2t>.195,840 29 

In 1842 24,361 : 336 50 

You then were hurled from power, and the Dem- 
ocratic party succeeded: and look at the difference, 
in so short a period ! 

The expenditures (the time of commencing the fiscal year 
having been changed from 1st January to 1st July) were, 

f.r six months in 1843 $11,256,508 60 

In 1843-Mi 20,650,108 01 

In 1644-M5 21,895,369 61 

Is it not, then, really amusing, here, where we 
know each other, and where the course of each is 
closely observed, to hear the Whigs lecture upon 
retrenchment and reform ? Does not your party, as 
* a party, vote, almost invariably, for the largest 
appropriations, whether in public or private bills? 



Are you not for a splendid government, conducted, 
on the most magnificent scale ? No man can come 
to any other conclusion, who has watched atten- 
tively your course of legislation during the last 
five years. In truth, one of the great differences 
between parties here, is, that the one party (with 
some exceptions) is favorable to what they term 
" liberal" appropriations, whilst the other is for 
scrutinizing closely every item in an appropriation 
bill, and conducting the business of the Govern- 
ment just as economically as their own. 

A word or two to my friend from Georgia, [Mr. 
Toombs,] who has just preceded me, and I have 
done. He says General Taylor, if elected, will 
bring back this Government to the purer uiiyjeiples 
and policy of General Washington; buiufe most 
studiously avoids giving us any idea of iio^ef, those 
principles or that policy are. He places 'himself 
on the Allison letter, upon which almost, any and 
every construction may be put. From if you can- 
not tell whether General Taylor is in favor of a 
bank or against it, for the sub-treasury or against 
it, for a protective tariff' or against it, for internal 
improvements or against them, for the distribution 
of the proceeds of the public lands or against it; 
and for the Wilmot proviso or against it. This 
is your candidate. Seeing such is your mood, and 
you are disposed to take General Taylor without 
pledges, and without any avowal of principles, and 
fight the battle of 1840 over again, I would most 
respectfully recommend to you the perusal of the 
letter of the Hon. Willoughby Newton (a highly 
respectable Whig, and recently a member of this 
House from the Old Dominion) to a Whig com- 
mittee in Richmond, in February, 1844, who in- 
vited him, I believe, to assist in preparing an 
address from a convention to the Whigs of Vir- 
ginia. In that letter, speaking of the contest of 
1840, Mr. Newton says: 

" We had a long and arduous contest, and achieved what 
we supposed a glorious triumph. Cut what advantages 
have we reaped from our labors? The fruits of all our toils 
have turned to ashes on our lips ; and we may truly exclaim 
with Pyrrhus, ' one more such victory, and we are un- 
done.' " 

And if your anticipations are realized , that period 
is approaching. But in my judgment, the signs 
of the times indicate that the period has arrived, 
and that the Whig party, as the party was known 
under the "imbodiment" of its principles, is al- 
ready broken into fragments. How much more 
noble it would be for your party, sinking as it is, 
to be defeated contending for principles, in pursu- 
ance of this most salutary advice of Mr. Newton: 
"Let me adjure the convention not to repeat the errors 
of 1840, which have been the fruitful source of all our woes. 
Let them remember that 'honesty is the best policy,' both 
in public and private life. I think I know something of the 
Virginia character. Our people are liberal and ingenuous; 
they will tolerate an honest difference of opinion, sincerely 
entertained and honestly expressed; but they abhor even 
the appearance of dissimulation. Let the convention, there- 
fore, boldly avow the principles of the party — advocate a 
national bank, eo nomine, and without circumlocution, a 
tariff with proper discrimination for the reasonable protec- 
tion of our great domestic interests, and such other measures 
as they may deem essential to the purity of the Government 
and the prosperity of the people. 

Here the chairman's hammer fell, and further 
remarks were precluded. 



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